The Congress’s think tank, Group to Look into Future Challenges — that included, among others, AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi as a member — has not met for over four months and there is no meeting scheduled or planned in near future, although the Group has not formally been disbanded yet.

Set up in September 2007 at the time of Rahul’s induction into the organisation, the 13-member Group was tasked by Congress president Sonia Gandhi to draw up the future roadmap of the grand old party. After several brainstorming sessions for almost one-and-a-half years, the ambitious Group has apparently lost its steam.

According to Law Minister Veerappa Moily, who is convenor of this Group, there is “nothing pending” before it and, therefore, no meeting has been called. “We have completed our report on intra-party reforms and there is nothing pending. We have completed the task given to us,” he said on Sunday.

Asked if the Group would be disbanded for want of any further work, Moily said, “It is for the Congress president to decide whether she wants us to look into other challenges. She will decide whether there is anything further to be done.”

Other members of the Group include Digvijay Singh, Anand Sharma, Vyalar Ravi, Prithviraj Chavan, Mukul Wasnik, Salman Khursheed, Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia, G Parmeshwar and Sandeep Dikshit. When the Group was set up in 2007, Jairam Ramesh had been appointed its convenor, but was dropped soon. Although Ramesh was later invited to its meetings, his name does not figure in the list of members on the party website.

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